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HomeMy Public PortalAboutvillage-manager-annual-report-2014-15BAL HARBOUR - VILLAGE - OFFICE OF THE VILLAGE MANAGER To: From: Jorge M. Gonzalez, Village Manager Date: November 25, 2015 Subject: Village Manager's Annual Report 2014-2015 MEMORANDUM Honorable Mayor and Members of the Village Council On November 12, 2015, I completed my second year as your Village Manager. As such, I would like to take this opportunity to share with you our key areas of focus and highlight our achievements and results over the past year. These accomplishments continue to build on the work we have been focusing on since I became your Village Manager. In reviewing these results, we can take collective pride in the many successes Bal Harbour Village has experienced, and we can look forward to much more continued progress in the future. Pursuant to Section 5.3 of our Employment Agreement, "The Village Council shall evaluate the performance of the Employee in October of each year ..." With the completion of my second year as your Village Manager, I have prepared a summary report of the activities and staff have undertaken in the past year, as well as the resulting accomplishments. I have also attached a form developed by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) (modified for use by Bal Harbour Village), which you may want to use as you consider the achievements of the past year. As a reminder, this information is subject to the Sunshine Law and should be used with that consideration in mind. My main priority as your Village Manager remains working with you to make our village government amongst the best in the nation — regarded and recognized as a high performing, quality organization, whose mission and work is focused on diligently and efficiently addressing our community's needs and priorities. While there is still a lot of work to be done, a great deal has been accomplished. This past year has been one of finalizing the transition for me as your Village Manager, "rounding" out the team with certain staff appointments and pushing forward with the many initiatives and goals we set for ourselves last year. We continue to change the way we do business, the way we are organized, who is providing services, and most importantly, we have focused our efforts and attention on big priorities for the Village. Developed through the budget process and approved by the Village Council last year we launched several activities that moved the Village forward on many fronts. You will recall in my report last year I summarized what we could expect. I suggested that in order to turn the community's feedback and vision into tangible results, the budget must fund specific areas of priority. I focused on the following five (5) key goals, which guided my recommendations and focus for the organization: Village Manager's Annual Report 2014-15 November 25, 2015 Page 2 • Enhancing policing strategies and accountability; • Improving and beautifying our public spaces; • Investing in our Information Technology Infrastructure; • Expanding our communication efforts; and, • Establishing sustainable fiscal policies and planning for future capital investments. As part of the FY 2014/15 Operating Budget, a series of enhancements were adopted in order to address specific areas of concern, which had been highlighted by you and your colleagues, residents and businesses alike. These proposed enhancements, listed below, were developed by department staff in an effort to improve operational effectiveness and efficiency: • Increased pressure cleaning of Village sidewalks, curbs, gutters and medians from an intermittent basis to four times a year; • Increased the frequency of trimming of median hedges by adding sixteen additional pruning cycles, as well as a third trimming of date palms per year; • Improved the appearance of the beach, by establishing a daily Sand Raking Program; • Began to identify funds for the development of Beautification Concept Plan for the Collins Avenue Corridor; • Established Capital Reserve funding for future capital projects; • Improved communication with residents and businesses through local quarterly printed and e -newsletters, improved Social Media services, and Web content development; • Enhanced the Fourth of July fireworks celebration / added New Year's Eve fireworks; and • Expanded the Museum/Art Access Program. We have successfully implemented those initiatives over the past year and they have been very well received by our residents and visitors alike. We should be very proud of the progress that has been made. In addition to those activities that were planned and vetted through the budget process, there were a number of other initiatives that required my attention and direction. These were identified: through conversations with each of you or members of the community; as opportunities presented themselves; or as needs required me to. The following were all completed this past year, and all required my and staff's careful attention and effort: • Police Benevolent Association Union Labor negotiations; • Update of Bal Harbour Brand and Advertising Campaign development and launch; • Bal Harbour Village Utility Master Plan development and approval; • Gated Community Transfer of Management; • Consultatio/Oceana Development Agreement renegotiation; and • Bal Harbour Shops proposed expansion review and evaluation process. Village Manager's Annual Report 2014-15 November 25, 2015 Page 3 SUMMARY OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS I believe that by staying focused on our priorities, the Village has achieved a great deal and that our collective efforts have translated into real and meaningful results for our entire community. Thanks to these efforts, our community now has a Police Department that has refocused its mission toward a community policing model, which is centered on increasing police visibility through innovated directed patrol activities; cleaner and improved streetscapes; more efficient public parking payment options; a more vibrant and thriving cultural arts program; a new Village branding and advertising campaign; more opportunities to access government; better and more communication with members of our community; real property value appreciation; and a lower overall property tax millage rate. I am happy to report that the quality of life in Bal Harbour Village continues to improve. Every day my team and I are tasked with efficiently operating the day-to-day functions of the Village, as well as being challenged to lead a variety of ongoing important community processes to develop sound policy recommendations and ultimately reach community consensus on what is in our collective best interests. I am proud to report that each of these issues have been handled in an extremely professional manner with the utmost integrity and with a primary focus on providing you with the best professional recommendations and advice from which to make your decisions. I also continued working on our efforts to restore trust and confidence in our Village government by ensuring openness and transparency in all our activities. The following summarizes the key accomplishments of the past year. For ease of review, it is organized into the five (5) key goals mentioned above. In addition, I have attached a more comprehensive list of accomplishments in these areas, as well as within our various departments for this review period. Enhancing Policing Strategies and Accountability Public Safety in our community remains a top priority. As such, the Bal Harbour Police Department (BHPD) continued with its realignment of resources to provide a greater level of service to our residents, businesses and visitors. The BHPD has continued its focus on rebuilding the public trust through greater officer accountability, transparency of police operations and increased contact with the community. To further enhance community policing and accountability, the organizational structure of the BHPD was modified to include two (2) Police Lieutenants, in order to enhance the level of managerial control over all police operations and shifts and to ensure a higher level of visibility and proactive community policing. The presence of managerial personnel on all shifts has improved the Police Department's ability to provide our community with more consistent level of response and to appropriately follow up on incidents of concern, thereby positively impacting the department's ability to serve our community. Village Manager's Annual Report 2014-15 November 25, 2015 Page 4 In January 2015, we began our official negotiation with the Police Benevolent Association (PBA). After eight (8) formal negotiation sessions and several separate discussions as well as subsequent Executive Sessions held with the Village Council, the Village and the Union successfully concluded negotiations and reached a three (3) year labor agreement which was approved by the Village Council in September 2015. The major sections of the agreement which were negotiated included changes to the current Police Officers' Pension Plan. The Plan will no longer accept new enrollees as the Village will join the Florida Retirement System (FRS). All newly hired sworn Police personnel will automatically enter into FRS and no new employees will be able to join the Village's Plan. Police employees already employed will have the option to remain in the Village's Plan or join FRS. For those that elect to remain in the Plan and who have already not reached their normal retirement age and/or date, the current benefit levels will remain the same, except with changes to the Multiplier; Pensionable Overtime Pay, Final Average Compensation; and the Retiree Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA). These changes result in an annual approximate savings in excess of $200,000 annually to the Village's Annual Required Contribution (ARC), an almost 20% reduction. Other major sections of the CBA include: changes to the payment made by bargaining unit members for health insurance from a fixed dollar amount to a percentage of the total premium; and the issuance of a three percent (3%) COLA effective at the start of each of the next three (3) fiscal years. Our efforts to bring closure to the Tri-County Task Force and its unwanted attention continue. Last year, an internal affairs investigation regarding the role of BHPD in the operations of the taskforce was initiated and uncovered discrepancies and a lack of record keeping. As a result, a request was placed with the Village Council to authorize for an audit of the Points Account. The findings of this audit have since been presented to the appropriate state and federal authorities and we continue to work with these entities in their ongoing investigation. We presented to the Village Council and the public the current status at our most recent Council meeting. Presently, the Bal Harbour Police Department (BHPD) has focused its activities and resources toward employing a community policing model, which is centered on increasing police visibility through innovative directed patrol activities. The realignment of resources allows the department to provide a greater level of public safety services to residents, businesses and visitors alike. As part of this effort, the BHPD initiated several activities to ensure greater visibility and contact with stakeholders. These are as follows: • Created a new Bicycle Unit; • Increased Marine Patrol activities; • Increased patrol on the beach and residential areas on new BHPD golf carts; • Increased police presence on Collins Avenue; • Increased traffic enforcement activities throughout the Village; and • Increased code enforcement within the Commercial and Condo Districts. Furthermore, the BHPD focused on rebuilding the public trust through greater officer accountability, transparency of police operations and increased contact with the community. From an administrative perspective, the BHPD has established a Comprehensive Weekly Report to the Council, which summarizes incidents that transpired in the Village during that Village Manager's Annual Report 2014-15 November 25, 2015 Page 5 timeframe. In addition, the BHPD has implemented improved police reporting systems, which ensure a more accurate account of incident reporting. Several other departmental initiatives have aided in ensuring greater accountability and community contact, such as, the implementation of automated vehicle locators on all police vehicles and deployment of a communitywide wireless emergency notification system (WENS) aptly named Bal Harbour Alerts. The BHPD also focused on creating stronger ties with the community, and this includes efforts such as the creation of a Basketball Camp, where police officers coach children in our community twice a week on basic basketball skills. This camp, now in its second year, runs from September through December. Improving and Beautifying our Public Spaces The Parks and Public Spaces Department has enhanced service levels through increased routine maintenance and improved the overall aesthetic of our existing facilities. By using contracted service providers, the Village's routine maintenance and appearance has improved in several ways, including: • Creating and executing a Village -wide hardscape cleaning plan; • Increasing pressure cleaning of Village sidewalks, curbs, gutters and medians from an intermittent basis to four times a year (quarterly); • Increasing the frequency of trimming of median hedges by adding sixteen additional pruning cycles, as well as a third trimming of date palms per year; and, • Improving the appearance of the beach by establishing a daily Sand Raking Program. In early 2015, the Village issued a formal request for proposals to obtain bids for our landscape and public space maintenance efforts. After careful consideration, the Brickman Group was selected as the Village's contracted service provider, and was awarded a new contract, which was more fiscally beneficial to the Village than the previous contract while at the same time established accountability and improved services. Over the initial three (3) year term of the agreement, this new contract will generate a cost savings to the Village of approximately $125,000 with a greater level of service, including: the incorporation of full - service pest control services; hardscape pressure cleaning; bi-weekly playground equipment pressure cleaning; the assumption of vegetative debris offsite dumping; the increase in palm pruning from three times per year to four times per year; the increase in hedge pruning from once monthly to weekly during the growing season which is an increase of 17 cycles from the existing agreement; the introduction of a full-time on -site irrigation technician to manage the Village Irrigation system; and the incorporation of afternoon seasonal beach area trash receptacle service during the winter season. The Parks and Public Spaces Department has made various changes to internal operations in order to provide better service to the community. The addition of equipment to maintain the Village street lighting system, and the operation of a functional warehouse facility is now a part of the department's program action plan and mission to provide efficient and effective maintenance of the public rights -of -way and open spaces. In addition to these operational plans, the department's efforts over the last year have been focused on advancing the development of a comprehensive master plan to beautify and update the aesthetics of the Village Manager's Annual Report 2014-15 November 25, 2015 Page 6 entire Collins Avenue corridor as well as 96th Street. Some specific examples include the restoration and subsequent ongoing maintenance of the landscaping and irrigation around the municipal parking lot and adjacent areas under the Herman B. Fultz Bridge. In addition, we worked with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) on painting the southern bridge embankment portion of the Herman B. Fultz Bridge. The new parking pay -by -phone system is now operational. Residents and visitors now have three options to pay for parking at the lot located near the jetty, including: paying via a mobile application (app), paying online, and paying by phone. This approach resulted in a cost avoidance of almost $40,000 by eliminating the need to purchase expensive equipment and the subsequent annual maintenance. The Village is moving forward with the recently adopted Utility Master Plan. As you know, the Village will receive $6,500,000 in Miami -Dade County Building Better Communities (BBC) General Obligation Bond (GOB) funding to advance this necessary capital project. Through extensive and protracted negotiations with Miami -Dade County, we were able to secure the remarkable amount of $6,500,000 million for our sewer project. This is a very noteworthy accomplishment I am proud to report on. Through my extensive network of connections and insight into the development of the Miami -Dade County GOB Program, I was able to convince the Miami -Dade Water and Sewer Department reprogram and secure approval of these funds before they were obligated to projects in other parts of the County. This was done through a coordination of efforts at the policy and elected official level. This comprehensive effort will provide safe and reliable long-term utility services for residents, including portable water, sanitary sewer and storm -water drainage infrastructure. With some of the current utility systems now nearly 70 years old, there is an urgent need to replace existing infrastructure. This project will ultimately provide long-term operational and fiscal benefits to the Village. The $6,500,000 allocation of funds is a portion of the $18,050,000 in funding already identified for the completion of the $26,011,900 in necessary utility infrastructure improvements. The allocation of the GOB funds would not have occurred without the positive working relationship between the current Administration and Miami -Dade County elected officials and administrators. Investing in our Information Technology Infrastructure Advancing the Village's information technology has been a focus since I joined the organization. Over the last year, much of that focus has been on tackling major improvements to update and upgrade the existing system, which was outdated and lacked appropriate back- up, security features and memory capacity. These improvements include the following: • Installation of system -wide security and anti -virus software; • Installation of new server hardware; • Replacement of computer inventory with new leased computers; and • Transition to the .GOV domain and e-mail archiving. These improvements have equipped our employees and our organization with reliable technology that supports the daily operations of the Village. Village Manager's Annual Report 2014-15 November 25, 2015 Page 7 Beyond infrastructure security and upgrades, other upgrades to existing business software are undertaken as part of the Information Technology (IT) Master Plan. We have finalized the upgrade of our financial management system, Springbook. This upgrade provides our Finance Department with additional functionality, as well as better reporting capabilities. Providing greater access and participation by residents and visitors is a cornerstone of my Administration. As a result, we have launched My Bal Harbour, a new mobile application (app), which allows residents and visitors to report issues, make requests for service, access important information and interact with Village Hall. This application is available to iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Windows phone users. Most importantly, this app will allow for greater accountability and efficiency in operations, and provide improved customer service, enabling the Village to bring our organization's capabilities in line with industry best practices. Along with the deployment of the Village's new app, the first phase of the website redesign project was also underway this year, and we expect to launch prior to the end of the calendar year. With the assistance and input of Councilman Salver, as the Council's liaison to this project, the design of the desktop and mobile versions of the website have been finalized, and programming of the site is underway. Aside from integrating the new branding look and feel, the redesigned website will provide greater access to Village information in a user- friendly manner. The IT Master Plan is based on a needs assessment of IT infrastructure necessary to implement future enhancements to the Village's e -government capabilities, such as solutions to more effectively communicate with residents and other stakeholders, facilitate online transactions, as well as improve Village operations through software business solutions. It is my goal to continue to grow our information technology capabilities next year to best address the needs of our residents, businesses and visitors. Expanding our Communication Efforts Over the past year I have continued to implement initiatives to ensure greater public inclusion and transparency. Letters to Council (LTC) continue to be sent as a way to keep the Mayor and Council informed of all initiatives taking place within the Village. In 2015, over 200 LTC's have been sent to date. Weekly reports are provided via LTC on all Police activity within the Village. Monthly check by date reports are sent via LTC to improve transparency and communication with the Village Council on Village day-to-day expenditures. I have received positive feedback on the reengineered agenda development process which was implemented shortly after I became your Village Manager. Agenda review meetings continue to be made available to each of you to prepare for Council meetings. The Council meetings continue to be live -streamed on the Village website and all material is available electronically for ease of reference. Clear and continuous communication with our residents, businesses and visitors is essential to ensuring their participation in our community. In July 2015, we relaunched our redesigned quarterly newsletter, with both Summer and Fall editions mailed to all residents. Winter and Village Manager's Annual Report 2014-15 November 25, 2015 Page 8 Spring editions will also be produced and mailed. A new mail service was used to ensure better delivery to all of our residents and as a result, we have eliminated the issues which existed which resulted in hundreds of mailings being returned to the Village. Our outreach also continues with our expanded and ever-growing e-mail and text alerts sent to residents and guests who have signed up to receive these notifications. All of our communication efforts will be further enhanced with the availability of the new mobile app, My Bal Harbour, as well as the new, improved and much more customer friendly Village website. In an effort to further evolve and enhance the Bal Harbour Village brand as a result of the continued vibrant growth of our area as a world -class global destination, the Village embarked on an updated brand identity system and style guidelines reflective of the Village's updated brand positioning. As I assumed the role of Village Manager in late 2013, I recognized the need to develop a consistent look and image for Bal Harbour Village. Previously, the Village had been represented one way in our tourism/marketing efforts and another way locally. The Village used different logos, stationary, web site design, etc. in an inconsistent manner. As the branding effort progressed, the opportunity to use this effort to merge our various images and graphic design representation became available. Using the work of Partners & Napier as a guide to merge our efforts, the Village then decided to hire the services of a professional creative agency to bring this initiative to fruition. The agency would be tasked with developing a comprehensive graphic presence and look for the Village that would represent us appropriately whether internationally, nationally or locally. The agency would also develop a style manual to establish guidelines for the appropriate and consistent usage of our new look and would ultimately develop and produce the advertising campaign concept and collateral material to be used in the launch of our advertisements for the fall 2015 campaign. Based on the recommendations of the Resort Tax Committee, the branding items were presented to the Village Council for selection and approval of the new Village logo and the authorization of the expenditure of the appropriated funds for the production costs associated with the Village's new advertising campaign. As a result, the Village has moved forward with its updated brand identity and style guidelines reflective of the Village's updated brand positioning in order to continue branding Bal Harbour as a world -class global destination, both internationally and locally. As part of the Village's rebranding efforts, new and expanded collateral materials have been developed and are being used to notify the public of all upcoming Village special events and initiatives. In keeping with Bal Harbour's continued dedication to supporting the arts, our Unscripted Bal Harbour program continues to grow and expand in order to connect our residents and guests with our areas finest and most dynamic art museums and events. Just in the past few weeks alone, we have had several art tours and chats, including a tour of the Margulies Collection, a private tour of the Scholl family collection, and an art chat with Jorge Perez at the St. Regis Hotel. As was the case last year and will be again this year, programming during Miami Art Week and Art Basel / Miami Beach affords our residents exclusive entry into several art opportunities in our community during this incredibly important cultural week in our greater community. Beginning October 2015, our residents and guests now receive free admission to five additional esteemed partner venues, including the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Art; the MDC Museum of Art and Design; Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens; and Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. This is in addition to receiving free entry to existing partner museums including: the Bass Museum of Art; the Village Manager's Annual Report 2014-15 November 25, 2015 Page 9 Museum of Contemporary Art; the Perez Art Museum; and the Wolfsonian Museum; as well as to our celebrated private collection partners: the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation; the Rubel) Family Collection; the De La Cruz Collection; and the Margulies Collection. Village events also continue to attract our residents and guests during this past year. In addition to growing attendance at our Art tours and chats, we have seen a greater number of residents attend events this past year including the New Year's Eve fireworks celebration; the expanded 4th of July fireworks and sandcastle building event; and the recently held holiday lighting ceremony and fall festival, both attended by individuals and families with over one hundred at each event as well as media coverage of the holiday lighting ceremony and official lighting of the Village's holiday lights. Establishing sustainable fiscal policies and planning for future capital investments. From a financial perspective, the Village remains fiscally strong. This positive financial position is reflective of prudent stewardship and leadership and facilitated the reduction in FY 2015/16 of the adopted millage rate to 1.9654 mills which is a 4.64% reduction from the previous year. Our budgeting process, year end close out and external audit earned the Village its first -ever recognition by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) certificate for excellence in financial reporting for the Village's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2014. This recognition is the highest accolade in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting and our attainment represents a significant accomplishment for the Village and our Management Team. The recently developed Utilities Master Plan envisions system upgrades to the Village infrastructure in totality. A key component of this plan proposes undertaking a large-scale sewer enhancement project, with the Phase One Sewer Enhancement portion, projected to cost $2.1 million which includes a main sewer trunk line and a new and improved pump station. Completion of this phase of the project is essential to meet our obligations to the developers of the Consultatio/Oceana, as such, it was expedited and moved forward. At the same time, since it is critical for the developers, I initiated a round of renegotiations with the developer to secure additional contributions to help fund the project. After lengthy exchanges, an agreement was reached which resulted in a contribution to the project of $950,000. The Phase One Sewer Enhancement Project contemplates the installation of a significantly upgraded new sewer station to the replace the existing aged Pump station #1, as well as upsizing sewer lines which will be installed at deeper elevations. These upgrades provide greater capacity to the entire Utility and address current Federal, State and Local environmental regulations. In addition, the developer agreed to fund and perform an extensive beach renourishment project providing thousands of cubic yards of new sand to our beach bringing the entire renegotiated agreement to more than $1.5 million. Village Manager's Annual Report 2014-15 November 25, 2015 Page 10 I worked with contacts at Miami -Dade County to secure an allocation of $6.5 million from the GOB Funds for much needed sewer repairs and improvements throughout the village. In addition, the Village applied for and received approximately $600,000 in State funds for Village sanitary sewer upgrades. As a result of the Village's participation in the National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System (a voluntary incentive program that recognizes and encourages community floodplain management activities), the flood insurance premium rates for Village residents were discounted this year to reflect the reduced flood risk resulting from our actions in meeting the goals of the rating system. Through collective bargaining negotiations with the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) union we were able to achieve concessions which will greatly reduce future liabilities and generate significant current and future year savings and will reduce the Village's long-term costs, primarily for pension and insurance. The priority in these negotiations was achieving reforms in the Police Pension Plan. As such, all new police officers hired by the Village will be required to participate in the FRS instead of joining the current Bal Harbour Police Officers Pension Plan. In addition, all current police officers will be provided a choice, as is legally required, to either join FRS or to remain a part of the current pension plan with reduced benefits. In addition, health insurance co -pays for Police Officers will now be at a fixed percentage of the total cost rather than the flat rate which they had previously paid. Operationally, we implemented a number of improved internal controls, banking practices, and protocols for authorized signors to enhance security and efficiency of operations, and negotiated reduced banking fees. The Village also established merchant services accounts to accept payments by credit card at Village Hall, providing easier payment options to our residents. We also corrected fund related expenditures to ensure proprietary funds are self- supporting. Initiated a practice of booking and following up on receivables Village -wide, resulting in the collection of past due revenue in excess of half a million dollars. Implemented process improvements requiring review and sign -off on all invoices, wires, and bank reconciliations by the appropriate Department Director prior to printing, execution, or completion. We recently completed the transition to an upgraded Village -wide financial management system improving the database structure, the ability to interact with data, and improving the accuracy of utility billing; resulting in operational efficiencies. And we initiated the provision of monthly check by date reports sent via LTC to improve transparency and communication with the Village Council on Village day-to-day expenditures. These goals continue to build on our efforts to build a sound fiscal and management foundation for this organization, as we develop a sustainable long-term plan for the efficient delivery of services by the Village to our community, while maintaining conservative financial practices to ensure the long-term fiscal health of the Village. Village Manager's Annual Report 2014-15 November 25, 2015 Page 11 Conclusion As we collectively continue to move Bal Harbour Village forward, I would like to restate how proud I am to serve as your Village Manager and I would like to thank each of you for your continued guidance and direction. It has helped us to accomplish so much on behalf of our residents and entire community. Below is a more expansive list of Village -wide accomplishments achieved. While there is still a lot of work that needs to be done, and many challenges to overcome, the future of Bal Harbour Village remains bright and full of promise. Our community is so fortunate to have so many opportunities to continue evolving. I look forward to speaking with each of you individually in greater detail about our accomplishments this past year and how, together, we can continue working to make Bal Harbour Village an even better place for our residents and visitors. Village Manager's Annual Report 2014-15 November 25, 2015 Page 12 List of Village -wide Accomplishments Administration • Initiated new Village -wide branding, held multiple public workshops to reach consensus on the final brand essence for the Village and a corresponding guidebook. This initiative also served to establish a broad collective vision for the Village activities and tourism advertising campaign, concluding in the Village Council's adoption of a new logo and updated advertising campaign. • Held multiple public Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) meetings to thoroughly review the FY 2014/15 and FY 2015/16 Millage, Operating Budget and Proposed Enhancements; developed Issue Sheets for significant Village departments and/or decision points; developed community consensus on the proposed millage and budget. Established fiscal policies to ensure sound financial footing. Reviewed and revamped the Village fee schedule and ensured consistency between the Village Code and actual fees charged. • Developed a Utilities Master Plan, which included a public workshop to gain input from residents and businesses and includes efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change and rising tides, and will set in motion a long-awaited upgrade to the Village's utility infrastructure. • Secured the assignment of funding from Miami -Dade County of $6.5 million in General Obligations Bonds for upgrades to sewer infrastructure improvement projects in Bal Harbour Village. • Secured an additional approximately $1 million through negotiations with the Consultatio to fund their proportional share of the Village's sewer system project. Additional concessions were negotiated, which will provide the Village with a beach renourishment project. • Developed an ordinance, which was adopted by the Village Council, to expand the Appearance Code to the Business District and an ordinance to regulate the appearance of roofs throughout the Village, including the B District (Business District). • Improved the Village's position in the development agreement with the One Bal Harbour Corporation, which impacts the maintenance of public areas. • Executed a settlement agreement with the One Bal Harbour, when Lionstone Development (Ritz Carlton Hotels) assumed ownership of the One Bal Harbour Resort and Spa and entered into an agreement between the Village and the One Bal Harbour Corporation (OBHC) which identified and memorialized all outstanding issues at the One Bal Harbour property. • Secured $102,041 from the One Bal Harbour Corporation to be held in escrow for the renovation of the loading dock area, as well as the landscape improvements to the parking lot area, roadway and beach, as described in the original development agreement with the Village. • Established a Capital Reserve funding for future capital projects. • Developed an Information Technology (IT) Master Plan and funding program, began hardware replacement initiatives and secured comprehensive outsourced IT services. • Continue to evaluate Bal Harbour Shops Expansion proposals. Conducted three Public Workshops with attendance in excess of 250 persons. • Enhanced Fourth of July celebration and a New Year's Eve fireworks celebration. Village Manager's Annual Report 2014-15 November 25, 2015 Page 13 • The expansion of the current Museum Access Program to include other major cultural institutions such as the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, MDC Museum of Art and Design, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, and the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum. Police • Worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Miami Division to conclude the criminal investigation related to the actions of the Bal Harbour Police Department's involvement in the Tri-County Taskforce. • Gained re -admittance into the Department of Justice Equitable Sharing Program, which the Village has been banned from participating in 2012. • Gained full compliance status from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for the Bal Harbour Police Department Communications Unit, which had been found in violation of running unauthorized background checks during an audit in December 2013. • Restructured the department to refocus efforts toward a Community Policing Model, with emphasis on high visibly patrol, traffic enforcement and positive citizen police relations. • Enhanced the Bicycle Patrol Program and Police Golf Cart Program, which increased Officers' ability to access and patrol areas where vehicular traffic is not an option., • Developed a "Response to an Active Shooter Situation" Standard Operating Procedure, as well as provided all officers with specialized training and tactics to effectively and efficiently respond and neutralize incidents of this kind. • Led efforts to create a partnership with the Anti -Defamation League, Town of Bay Harbor Islands and Town of Surfside Police Departments to establish a Citizen Awareness Program for the local Shuls, with the purpose of training and increasing awareness within the Jewish community on how to detect suspicious activity. • Established an off -duty walking beat directly funded by the Bal Harbour Shops to ensure additional public safety services within the shops on their busiest days, high impact weekends, and holidays. Building • Adopted a written procedure for file intake and processing of permits. • Adopted a procedure for consistent file preparation, filing, and archiving permit documents. • Reviewed and sorted all microfiche files by lot and block number. • Currently reviewing all electronic media and creating a database in Excel in order to facilitate sorting and finding archived, electronic documents. • Created a building department operations manual. • Created approximately 20 forms necessary for the Building Department including permit application with legally required language, certificate of occupancy, change of contractors, etc. • Cleaned up hundreds of files in the electronic permitting system (Energov). • Researched several building department softwares including visiting similar sized building departments in order to recommend a system for the Village. • Currently reviewing all zoning codes to recommend updates, edits, clarification, and corrections to the Village Manager. Village Manager's Annual Report 2014-15 November 25, 2015 Page 14 • Established a system for tracking elevation certificates for all homes in the Village, together with a photo of the property at construction completion. • Reviewed all Village properties for compliance with 40/10/10 year re -certifications. Created a spreadsheet to track and notice overdue properties. Parks and Public Spaces • Developed a Utilities Master Plan, which included a public workshop to gain input from residents and businesses, includes efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change and rising tides, and will set in motion a long-awaited upgrade to the Village's utility infrastructure. • Improved the Village's position in the development agreement with the One Bal Harbour Corporation, which impacts the maintenance of public areas. • Installed $115,000 worth of new and replacement landscape Village -wide. • Completed the coordination for the placement of 9,000 cubic yards of new sand along the Bal Harbour Beach. • Completed the research and retro fit of the street lights on Collins Avenue to Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps. • Completed the research and retro fit of the street tree up -lights lights and median up - lighting on Collins Avenue and 96th Street to Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps. • Completed the restoration of the under bridge parking lot landscaping, irrigation, parking stops. • Completed the painting of the Herman B. Fultz bridge embankment, columns and travel lane barrier walls. • Completed the installation of new signage and dog waste stations along the beach area bicycle/service road. • Completed $ 49,000 worth of sidewalk and curbing repairs along Collins Avenue and 96th Street. • Initiated the quarterly pressure cleaning of all sidewalks, curbing and pedestrian paths along Collins Avenue and 96th Street. • Initiated additional pruning cycles of Date Palms and Hedges. • Initiated a monthly curb painting program Village -wide. • Initiated the daily raking/dressing of the sand at Bal Harbour Beach, East of the Dunes. • Completed over $ 130,000, worth of utility system restorative, maintenance and emergency work Village -wide. • Completed the solicitation and implementation of a new landscape services contract. • Completed the new solicitation to engage a Holiday Lighting and Display Service Company. • Completed a new solicitation for a Recreation Service Management company. • Completed a new solicitation for the engagement of Landscape Architectural firm to complete the Collins Avenue/96th Street Corridor enhancement plan. • Converted 100% of all departmental records to a digital format. • Completed a crosswalk at the Bal Harbour Park and Village Hall. • Updated fleet for the department through new leases. • Completed the restorative painting of the Residential Gated Section guard house. • Completed the restoration of the Residential Gated Section street signs. Village Manager's Annual Report 2014-15 November 25, 2015 Page 15 Finance • Millage reduction to 1.9654 mills which is a 4.64% reduction from last year, and a cumulative 32.27% decrease since 2004. • Earned the Government Financial Officers Association (GFOA) Certificate for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the Village's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2014. The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management. • Applied for and received a $600,000 State Appropriation for Village Sanitary Sewer upgrades. • Improved internal controls, banking practices, and protocols for authorized signors to enhance security and efficiency of operations, and negotiated reduced banking fees. • Established merchant services accounts to accept payments by credit card at Village Hall. • Corrected fund related expenditures to ensure proprietary funds are self-supporting. • Initiated a practice of booking and following up on receivables Village -wide, resulting in the collection of past due revenue in excess of half a million dollars. • Implemented process improvements requiring review and sign -off on all invoices, wires, and bank reconciliations by Director prior to printing, execution, or completion. • Timely submitted quarterly reports to funding agencies, and issued Comprehensive Annual Financial Statements. • Worked cooperatively with the Department of Justice to bring Federal Forfeiture financial reporting current for previous fiscal years. • Upgraded the Village's Financial Management system improving the database structure, the ability to interact with data, and improving the accuracy of utility billing; resulting in operational efficiencies for Village -wide. • Initiated the provision of monthly check by date reports to improve transparency and communication with the Village Council on Village day to day expenditures. International City / County Management Association Village Manager Performance Evaluation Guideline This form may be used by each Member of the Village Council to evaluate the Village Manager's performance in fulfilling each of the roles he plays in the Village's government. The Village Manager is graded 1-4, with the following scale: 1 — poor 2 — fair 3 — good 4 — excellent Each member of the Council should complete the form and share/discuss it with the Village Manager. The Village Manager will compile the results and tally the scores. 1. Personal Invests sufficient efforts towards being diligent and thorough in the discharge of duties. Composure, appearance, and attitude fitting for an individual in his executive position. 2. Professional Skills and Status Knowledge of current developments affecting the management field. Respected in management profession. Has a capacity for innovation. Anticipates problems and develops effective approaches for solving them. Willing to try new ideas proposed by Council members or staff. 3. Relations with Council Carries out directives of the Council as a whole rather than those of any one Council member. Page 1 of 4 F:IPDADMIMDOLORE$%VM EveINM Performance Evaluation Guide 2014.dor Assists the Council in resolving problems at the administrative level to avoid unnecessary Council action. Assists the Council in establishing policy while acknowledging the ultimate authority of the Council. Responds to requests for information or assistance by the Council. 4. Policy Execution Implements Council action in accordance with the intent of the Council. Supports the actions of the Village Council after a decision has been reached. Enforces Village policies. Understands Village's laws and ordinances. Offers workable alternatives to the Council for changes in the law when an ordinance or policy proves impractical in actual administration. 5. Reporting Provides the Council with reports concerning matters of importance to the Village. Reports are accurate and comprehensive. Prepares a sound agenda which prevents trivial, administrative matters from being reviewed by the Council. 6. Citizen Relations Handles complaints/inquiries from citizens appropriately. Dedicated to the community and to its citizens. Skillful with the news media - avoiding political positions and partisanship. Has the capacity to listen to others and to recognize their interest — work well with others. Page 2 «4 F:ND ADMIMDOLORESWM Evet,VM Performance Evaluation Guide 2074 0e Cooperates with neighboring communities. Cooperates with the county, state and federal governments. 7. Staffing Recruits and retains competent personnel for Village positions. Works to improve performance of staff. Committed to ensuring diversity in the workforce. Accurately informed and concerned about employee insurance, fringe benefits, promotions, and pensions. 8. Supervision Encourages department heads to make decisions within their own jurisdictions without Village Manager approval, yet maintains general control of administrative operations. Instills confidence and initiative in subordinates and emphasizes support rather than restrictive controls for their programs. Has developed a friendly and informal relationship with the work force as a whole, yet maintains the prestige and dignity of the manager office. 9. Fiscal Management Prepares a balanced budget to provide services at a level intended by the Council. Makes the best possible use of available funds, conscious of the need to operate the Village efficiently and effectively. Prepared budget is in an intelligible format. Pape 3 of 4 F:1PD ADMIN\OOLORES\VM EvaI1VM Performance Evaluation Guide 2014.da 10. What have been the major accomplishments of the Village Manager this .past year? 11. What areas of the Village Manager's performance need the most improvement? Why? What constructive, positive ideas can you offer the Village Manager to improve in these areas? Signature Date Page 4 of 4 F:WD ADMINIDOL0RES\VM EvaaVM Performance Evaluation Glide 2014.cloc